iiigham



(No Model.)

` H.'H. HIGHAM.

, GORE.

` No. 566,688. Patented Aug. 25, 1896.

FIGZZA UNITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

IAIOXVARD II. HIGIIAM, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CORK.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 566,683, dated August25, 1896.

Application filed October 30, 1895. Serial No. 567.451. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOWARD H. HIGHAM,

a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,have invented certain Improvements in Corks, of which the following is aspeciiication.

rEhe object of my invention is to manufacture a cork in such a mannerthat it will not be injuriously aifected by the contents of the bottleor other receptacle and which will freely yield and expand and which canbe readily driven into or removed from the mouth of the bottle. Thisobject I attain in the following manner, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which-f Figure l is a view of a cork driveninto the mouth of a carboy with the cork in outside view. Fig. 2 is asectional view similar to Fig. l, with the cork in section. Fig. 3 is asectional plan view on the line 3 3, Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a perspectiveview of the cork before being driven. Fig. 5 is a perspective view ofthe cork after being driven; and Fig. G is a view of a headed cork,illustrating my invention..

My invention relates especially to the corks of carboys and otherbottles containing acids and other iiuids which would eat away anddestroy the ordinary wooden cork. Heretofore in bottling these acids thestoppers were made either of glass ground into the mouth of the carboy,or a clay plug was made, or a screw-cap was provided which screwed intothe threaded mouth of the bottle.

The ground-glass stopper and screw-cap are very seldom used on accountof the cost and owing to the fact that the stoppers are notinterchangeable. Furthermore, the grinding of the Stoppers in place isan expensive operation, and where a screw-thread is made in the mouth insuch a large vessel as a carboy the expense of manufacturing isconsiderably increased, owing to the difficulties in handling the carboybefore annealing. Consequently the old-fashioned method of using a lumpof clay, bagging, pitch, and string is resorted to to the present day.

By my invention the ordinary carboy can be tightly corked without usingthe cumbersome and ugly method now resorted to.

It will be noticed in the accompanying draw ings thatA is a Wood cork ofone of the lower grades, and inclosing this cork is a cap B of softmetal, preferably lead, which is formed by a drawing process, the corkbeing tapered so that it will iit carboys having mouths of differentshapes and diameters. The cap has a thick base b and its flange 1)decreases in thickness as it nears the top ct of the cork, so that whilethe heaviest portion of the cap is at the point where the acid will morereadily attack the cork, the main portion of the cap is of such athickness that it will readily yield and conform to the vshape of thebottle D. Furthermore, the material being flexible, it can be used incombination with an expansible stopper as well as with the ordinarycork.

I have found that I can use the commonest grade of cork in the stopperand cover it for about the same cost as a irst-grade cork and which willlast considerably longer than the high-grade cork and can be used overagain.

By making the cap of flexible lead I can use the cork in vesselscontaining muriatic, sulfuric, and other acids, and ammonia.Furthermore, the cork is non-absorbent, as is the common cork madeeither of wood or rubber, and consequently will not decay in use.

Owing to the peculiarity of the drawn lead, the cork can be driven intothe bottle with less resistance and the lead will cond ense Withoutpuckering and conform to the inner shape of the neck of the bottle, thecork yielding and expanding with the cap, thus making an airtightstopper, a result not possible with ordinary sheet metal or lead.

The cork can be readily withdrawn, and if a corkscrew is used it neednot be passed through the cork but simply into the Wooden portion ashortdistance, when the en tire cork can be withdrawn, as the lead will notadhere to the bottle as readily as the ordinary wooden or rubber cork.

I claim as my inventionl. A cork having a compressible center and aiiexible, drawn, metallic cap or casing inclosing the base and sides ofthe center.

2. A bottle-cork having a compressible cen* ter and a iiexible, drawn,metallic cap having a thick base and having sides tapering from thebottom to the top of the cork, substantially as described.

neme to this speoeeton n the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HOWARD H. I-IIGHAM.

Witnesses:

FRANK E. BEoHToLD,

Jos. H. KLEIN.

